Captain Nemo
A mysterious adventurer in complete control of the Nautilus, the futuristic submarine which has been targeted by above-surface sailors as an unknown species of sea creature; a sea monster, in fact. The mystery of the Nautilus leads to a fateful encounter with an American ship named the Abraham Lincoln which brings on board his electrical wonder a host of visitors upon whose arrival the narrative will twist and turn from adventure to adventure. For reasons never fully explained, Nemo is a misanthropist clinging tightly to a deep-seated hatred for most of the human race.
Professor Pierre Arronax
Aronnax is Assistant Professor in the Museum of Natural History who is unfortunate enough to be aboard the Abraham Lincoln during its fatal encounter with the Nautilus. His first-person narration relates the various adventures aboard Nemo’s miraculous vessel.
Conseil
Conseil is the manservant to Arronax. He is essentially defined by his relationship to his master and his standing as utterly and completely devoted in his role as servant. As a result, he is far less complex than the other major characters, but does stand out as being a bit idiosyncratic. Not in a broadly suggestive way like Nemo, but more like a pleasantly eccentric uncle.
Ned Land
Another one of the few to survive the encounter between Nemo and the Abraham Lincoln is the American harpooner, Ned Land. In contrast to Nemo and Arronax, Ned is the representative democratic down-to-earther, holding tightly to classic American ideals and clashing with Nemo over the state of his virtual imprisonment. Ned is the norm aboard a ship of outsiders.
